Tools and resources

We work closely with stakeholders to develop a range of evidence-based tools and resources to inform policy and practice. We greatly appreciate feedback about how you are using them and how we can improve their relevance and impact. 

Down

CARDAT Platform

The Clean Air and health Research Data and Analysis Technology (CARDAT) is the Centre’s online data sharing and analysis platform.

It is an online research platform that collates a wide array of population, health and environmental datasets with a collection of analysis tools and methodology resources. This IT infrastructure enables easy data sharing, reuse, and reproducible data analysis.

Webinars

The Centre for Safe Air runs monthly webinars that bring together researchers, clinicians, policy makers and other stakeholders to discuss emerging issues regarding safe air and interventions to improve health.

You can access all our past webinar recordings through our YouTube channel or by exploring the resource library below.

Resource Library

Submission
We support the Draft Policy which, if implemented, will mean new applications to install solid fuel heaters (commonly referred to as wood heaters) will not be approved in urban areas of the Queanbeyan-Palerang Local Government Area (LGA), and enforcement action can be taken against unapproved wood heaters.
Webinar
September 2024. The transport sector contributes nearly a fifth of Australia’s air pollution. Creating safer air for all Australians means thinking about transport fuels and their emissions, who is most at risk, and the types of settings where people are exposed to transport-related air pollution. In this webinar we heard from Dr Timothy Chaston, a research fellow at the University of Sydney, and Affiliate at the Centre for Safe Air. He was joined by Keith Loveridge, former Senior Sustainability Officer with the City of Maribyrnong and lecturer and tutor at RMIT, who has made a significant impact as a citizen scientist and advocate for reducing transport emissions in Melbourne. The webinar and a live Q&A was facilitated by Geoffrey Morgan, Associate Professor at the University of Sydney and Chief Investigator at the Centre for Safe Air.
Fact sheet
Bushfire smoke can harm your health, especially if you live with a lung disease (like asthma), live with another long-term illness (like heart disease and diabetes), are over 65 or a child under 5, or are pregnant. The best ways to avoid smoke are to: Close doors and windows to help protect you during short episodes of outdoor smoke, wear a P2/N95 mask outdoors and indoors if needed, use an air cleaner with a HEPA filter indoors, check local air quality using a trusted app (e.g. AirRater), and think about visiting a place with cleaner air like a library or a shopping centre.
Submission
There is now well-established evidence of the harm of transport emissions on health. In our response to the questions posed in the Roadmap, we outline the benefits and importance of including health co-costs and co-benefits in the transition to zero carbon
Report
Air pollution is the single greatest environmental cause of preventable disease and premature death in the world today. It ranks alongside unhealthy diets, inadequate physical activity, and tobacco smoking, as a major global risk factor for mortality. Globally, air pollution is responsible for approximately 7 million premature deaths each year. In Australia annual mortality is conservatively estimated to be more than 3,200 with a cost greater than AUD $6.2 billion from years of life lost. However, the full health and social impacts are much more extensive. This report explains why the effects of air pollution are so far reaching and, equally, why coordinated action to make air safer is one of the best investments in Australian health.
Webinar
Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution which can have both acute and long-term impacts on their health and wellbeing. Allergies, asthma and the airborne transmission of infectious diseases are the most visible impacts of air pollution for children under 15 years of age. However, beginning in the womb, children can be exposed to air pollution that impacts their long-term respiratory, cardiovascular, and cognitive health in ways that are less obvious. Improving air quality in the settings where children spend much of their time—such as schools, playgrounds and in the home—represents an important opportunity for improving health outcomes for Australians across the life course. In this webinar, we hear from air quality researchers and public health professionals with a particular focus on improving children’s health: Dr Amanda Wheeler, Senior Research Scientist CSIRO, and Associate Investigator at the Centre for Safe Air; Hayley Dyke, Medical Lead for Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response, Centre of Disease Control, NT Health The webinar and Q&A will be moderated by Dr Sabrina Idrose, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Safe Air and Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Access the YouTube recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJtKUaH4MpE&t=45s
Webinar
Improving indoor air quality is one of the best ways to improve public health and reduce the health burden associated with infectious diseases, asthma, and a range of other health conditions. While we spend nearly 90% of our time indoors, indoor air quality is largely unregulated and is subject to pollution from a range of indoor and outdoor sources. In this Centre for Safe Air webinar, we heard from a leading expert in indoor air quality, Distinguished Professor Lidia Morawska (QUT), and Policy Manager at Asthma Australia, Angela Cartwright. The webinar and Q&A was facilitated by Centre for Safe Air Postdoctoral Researcher, Dr Nicolás Borchers Arriagada. The webinar explored indoor air quality as it relates to public buildings (including the science behind the push for national indoor air quality standards) and in the home (in relation to asthma triggers, policy developments and recommendations). Join the Centre for Safe Air mailing list to receive invitations to future webinars: www.safeair.org.au/connect Access the YouTube recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5NKvJrCIE&t=3s
Webinar
1.5 million Australians – almost five per cent of the population – live with diabetes. While links with obesity and diet are well known, air pollution is also a significant modifiable risk factor. In 2021, nearly 10% of diabetes related deaths in Australia were attributed to air pollution. In this webinar researchers presented findings regarding the links between diabetes and air pollution, and what this tells us about how to reduce diabetes in Australia: Professor Joachim Heinrich, Head of Population Studies at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich; and Yiwen Zhang, PhD candidate and member of the Climate, Air Quality Research in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. The webinar and a live Q&A was facilitated by Dr Sabrina Idrose, Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Safe Air, Melbourne University. Access the YouTube recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX26t3YnWkg
Submission
As the climate gets hotter and extreme weather events become more common, the health impacts associated with air pollution are expected to increase. More frequent and intense bushfires will result in increased particulate matter (PM) air pollution, emergency department attendances and health costs. Hotter temperatures are predicted to increase the concentration of aeroallergens (i.e., pollens), particulate matter air pollution, and other air pollutants such as fungi, mould, and windblown dust, with associated increased health burden. High temperatures and bushfires often coincide, producing a synergistic negative effect on health outcomes. Climate change is also expected to increase ground-level ozone, which is associated with a range of health issues including reduced lung function and increased hospital presentations and admission for asthma.
Submission
The home environment is crucial for health and wellbeing. People inhale 11,000 litres of air per day on average, mostly inside homes. Even small amounts of air pollution in the home environment can have a significant impact on health. Moreover, the people who are most vulnerable to air pollution (children, older adults and people with disabilities) spend a greater proportion of time indoors where they are exposed to a number of hazards relating to heating and cooking appliances, sealing and ventilation. As such, enhancing minimum rental standards presents a major opportunity to improve air quality in rental properties and consequently the health of renters.

 

Join our newsletter

The Centre for Safe Air publishes a monthly newsletter reporting news events, funding opportunities, resources, publications and more. Subscribe to our mailing list to stay up to date.

Click to subscribe